provenance

/ˈpɹɒ.və.nəns/

//ˈpɹɒ.və.nəns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"provenance" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“provenance” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,955. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,955
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Place or source of origin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-provenance · provenance · English

provenance · rank #23,955 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #23,955
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH provost

Nearest frequency peer: provost (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “provenance”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “provenance” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

provenance vs Provence
70% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for provenance
PropertyValue
Headwordprovenance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɹɒ.və.nəns/
Letters10
Frequency rank#23,955
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “provenance”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).provenancelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “provost” (#23,956), “proponent” (#23,953), “putt” (#23,957). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “provenance” is #23,955. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around provenance (IPA /ˈpɹɒ.və.nəns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,955 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for provenance, with forms such as "porvenance", "pprovenance", and "proevnance". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Provence", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French provenance (“origin”), from Middle French provenant, present participle of provenir (“come forth, arise”), from Latin provenio (“to come forth”). The correct English form is provenance, spelled P-R-O-V-E-N-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Place or source of origin.
  2. 2
    The place and time of origin of some artifact or other object. See Usage notes below.
  3. 3
    The history of ownership of a work of art.
  4. 4
    The copy history of a piece of data, or the intermediate pieces of data used to compute a final data element, as in a database record or web site (data provenance).
  5. 5
    The execution history of computer processes which were used to compute a final piece of data (process provenance).
  6. 6
    Background; history; place of origin.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how provenance appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Many supermarkets display the provenance of their food products.
  2. Within this melee of intersections between English and Cantonese, the students, being themselves bilingually fluent, were able to navigate with perfect ease in communicative contexts where the provenance of a certain term or expression matters little.

Etymology

Borrowed from French provenance (“origin”), from Middle French provenant, present participle of provenir (“come forth, arise”), from Latin provenio (“to come forth”).

This word in other languages

procedencia(Español)provenance(Français)Herkunft(Deutsch)procedência(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porvenance
  • pprovenance
  • proevnance
  • proveannce
  • provenacne
  • provenancce
  • provenanec
  • provenannce
  • provenence
  • provennace
  • provennance
  • provneance
  • provvenance
  • prrovenance
  • prvoenance
  • rpovenance

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of provenance - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

porvenance2pprovenance1proevnance2proveannce2provenacne2provenancce1provenanec2provenannce1
Edit distance from "provenance"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "provenance"?
"provenance" is spelled P-R-O-V-E-N-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɒ.və.nəns/.
What does "provenance" mean?
As a noun, "provenance" means: Place or source of origin.
What words are commonly confused with "provenance"?
"provenance" is commonly confused with "Provence". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "provenance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "provenance" is /ˈpɹɒ.və.nəns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "provenance"?
Borrowed from French provenance (“origin”), from Middle French provenant, present participle of provenir (“come forth, arise”), from Latin provenio (“to come forth”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "provenance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

regenerate#23,969naturalist#23,920Montenegro#23,911supersonic#24,009

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

mischievous16 variantsmarshmallow16 variantstemperance16 variantshyperbolic16 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list